Clear favourite

The Sir Mark Prescott trained Littlefeather has been made the 2 to 1 favourite for Sunday's Group One Moyglare Stud Stakes at…

The Sir Mark Prescott trained Littlefeather has been made the 2 to 1 favourite for Sunday's Group One Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh.

The Cork based firm Cashmans make the Newmarket and Chester winner their clear favourite after 16 fillies were left in the race after yesterday's final forfeit.

They include five cross-channel trained horses and they dominate the ante-post market with the Cherry Hinton winner Torgau and John Dunlop's Eurolink Raindance bracketed as the 9 to 2 joint second favourites.

Cashmans make the John Oxx trained Tipperary winner Mandama as their top home choice at 6 to 1 but it's Littlefeather that the bookies are running scared of.

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She will be a first Moyglare runner for Prescott but Littlefeather will lose nothing on the score of breeding as the home bred is by Indian Ridge out of Sir Edmond Loder's champion racemare Marwell.

Torgau will also be first Moyglare runner for Giles Bravery but last year's winner John Oxx is expecting a good run from Mandama who beat one of the Aidan O'Brien entries Alluring by a head on her debut.

"She has sparkled since that race and although it is a big step up to Group 1 class, I expect her to run a pretty respectable race. She is a delicate little thing but we have always liked her and we thought she would win her first race," said Oxx yesterday.

Aidan O'Brien has left four in the race including the full sister to King Of Kings, Amethyst, who was expensively beaten by Preseli in a Listed race at Leopardstown last time.

Betting: (Cashmans): 2 Littlefeather, 9/2 Torgau & Eurolink Raindance, 6 Mandama, 8 Amethyst, 10 Yara & Alluring, 16 Preseli & Fairy Gem.

The midweek bread and butter fare continues at Clonmel today where the season's top apprentice Jamie Spencer can pick up two more winners.

The classic winning youngster is on Passionate Pilgrim for Tommy Stack in the two mile maiden and this son of Pursuit Of Love showed enough when a length and a half second to the odds on Prince Valiant at Killarney in July to suggest he can take this.

The Oxx trained Gothic Theme is likely to start favourite for this but she has had her chances before and it was surprising to see her lose out on third to That's My Wife at Tralee last week.

Spencer could also be on the mark in the apprentice claimer with Cotopaxi. The Dundalk winner had Brownsfield in behind when scoring last time and although the O'Brien horse is 7lbs better off, Spencer's presence on Cotopaxi can make all the difference.

The ten furlong handicap can fall to The Boxer who did well to win at Galway after losing ground at the start. She got up by only a head but should appreciate the extra quarter mile here while the topweight Pacon can add to his previous success at Killarney in July in the Munster Handicap Hurdle.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor is the racing correspondent of The Irish Times. He also writes the Tipping Point column